Chapter 22, A Weapon Of Mass Destruction

"Clean the window," The now all too familiar cold blonde woman commanded.

Hydra's heart was filled with a jumbled mix of stark terror and dread. "I won't!" She shouted in defiance. It didn't matter though, because she began to move toward the large floor to ceiling window as though she was a puppet on a string. She screamed, but was unable not to follow the order to clean the damned window!

Hands extending, she found herself working a cleaning charm that instantly removed all the dirt that clouded the glass. As she did, tears streamed down her face as she struggled against whatever gripped her. Letting out a strangled scream, she struggled to sit up in bed. In... her own bed! She was in her own safe room at #12 Grimmauld place. She let out a shuddering breath. It was just that blasted horrid dream again.

"I wish I'd stop having that," she grumbled darkly to her empty bedroom. At least it was daylight, and she hadn't brought the entire manor down again with her screams. Sighing she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was nearly time for breakfast, so she got up and hurriedly attired herself in a yellow summer dress of flowing silk. As she sat at her dressing table to comb her long dark hair, her thoughts returned to those on which she'd drifted off to sleep the previous night concerning Voldemort. She wasn't sure that it was better than thinking of her nightmare, but she hoped it may be more productive. Voldemort had killed his entire family, so it wasn't like him to make a child, but it was like him to make a weapon.

A weapon against what, though? Knowing this may help to understand Delphini's powers and abilities. When her hair was a gleaming mass of neatly combed tresses down her back, she rose and moved to her desk. She intended to write the Lestranges and invite them to breakfast so that she could share her thoughts in case they were useful. With quill in hand, and fresh parchment in front of her, she hesitated. What if the Lestranges were still too shook by seeing what was likely Voldemort's sentient Horcrux inside of Delphini?

Perhaps it wasn't kind to involve them even if they were somewhat experts on the monster being his closest followers for so long. She sighed, and wrote Grindelwald instead. If he wanted to ask the Lestranges anything after hearing her theory, that would be up to him. He'd likely be the one using any information they had anyway. And if her thoughts weren't useful to the current situation, Gellert would know as much and the Lestranges wouldn't have to put any unnecessary thought into Voldemort. Hydra kept her letter brief, asking if Grindelwald could come to breakfast to talk about Delphini, because she had thoughts she would like to share.

Once the note was sent, she wandered into the kitchen for some tea before breakfast. The four elves who worked at #12 Grimmauld place and also called it home, behaved normally, quite as if there wasn't a serpentine shadow literally hanging over the wizarding world. Stormy was busy making breakfast at the large stove, casual gestures nearly bored while Ripper set the table. Jazz and Piper stood about idly, helping as needed with anything that needed it. Watching the four so relaxed at their morning tasks brought Hydra's reoccurring nightmare sharply back to mind.

"Before you were free, if someone told you to do something, and you refused, what happened if you didn't bang your head," Hydra asked Ripper, who stood the closest to her when the thought occurred. "Were you like a puppet on strings, or..." She trailed off, shrugging.

Out of the corner of one eye, Hydra caught Stormy flashing her a concerned look from across the kitchen, but he remained silent. Ripper's round eyes widened even more in surprise as he blinked at her. "Ripper was never asked to do anything by the Lestrange family that he did not wish to do, so he never had cause to have such an experience," he said.

Ripper was the younger brother of Jackdaw, the elf who served Rodolphus's father. Hydra should've known that Ripper never would've been asked to do anything that he would feel the need to resist. The rest had come from various Lestrange households as well, even Piper, who was from France. She doubted that any of them would've demanded something the elves would've minded, but she glanced around at all of them. "Any of you," she asked. They all stared back. Their attention was already fully on her for the apparently odd question she'd put to Ripper. They all shook their heads. She sighed. "That's good. I'm glad," she said sincerely. "I don't know why I wanted to talk about it, I just..."

Stormy frowned. "Hydra had the nightmare again?"

She flushed, and nodded. "I hate it so much. I wish I could control my dreams so that I'd never have it again."

"It is just based on Hydra's fears," Stormy said gently. "Fears that shall never manifest into reality. Hydra is free and half human. Besides, Stormy has never heard of a free elf being enslaved or re-enslaved. It is likely impossible."

Hydra nodded. "My waking self is aware of that, but do send a memo to my dreaming mind." She chuckled and Stormy smiled.

"If only Stormy could," he said. "He certainly would."

"I just wish The Daddies had managed to discover how the elves were enslaved in the first place and why," she said. "I think answers would teach us a lot."

"It doesn't feel like slavery when one is where one wishes to be," Piper said in his thick French accent. "My family was always happy with the Lestranges. We wanted to be where we were."

Ripper nodded in agreement to Piper's words. "Ripper has seen other elves, that dead Dobby for example, who clearly were not happy where they were. The situation was vastly different for them, obviously. Ripper feels that elves like Dobby were more enslaved by having to be forced due to their mistreatment which caused them to dislike their families. As such that sort are more affected by whatever this curse on elves is about."

"Yes, but it could've turned for you if a member of the Lestrange family was the sort to mistreat elves," Hydra pointed out. "Daddy Kreacher's life was much like yours save for where Sirius Black was concerned."

"True." Ripper nodded. Before the conversation could continue the door chime rang.

"I'll get it," Hydra said. "I wrote Grindelwald, inviting him to breakfast so that I could speak to him about something I was thinking about Voldemort. In case it happens to matter for this Delphini situation." As she spoke, she hurried from the room.

"It may be Grindelwald, and it may be someone dangerous, sent from Delphini for all we know," Stormy said, hurrying after her. "Stormy shall open the door in case, but Hydra may come along." Hydra opened her mouth to sigh and complain playfully about Stormy's paranoia, but shut it again before anything escaped.

She knew that she probably hadn't started taking the threat Delphini posed seriously enough, and the girl could have it out for the Black family for obvious reasons. She stood just behind Stormy as he opened the door to Gellert Grindelwald and Blaise Zabini. They made a striking contrast to one another, standing close together in the doorway. Both were tall and thin.

Gellert was perhaps an inch shorter with blond curls spilling over his shoulders while Blaise's dark hair was cut short. Both were clean shaven with flawless skin, but Blaise's was dark while Gellert's was fair. Even their eyes were a contrast to one another. While they were both blue, where Gellert's danced with a lithe fiery interest, Blaise's were always ice cold and nearly bored. Their clothing was where the contrasting differences ended, though. They dressed alike in matching black robes and long dark gray dusters. The only time Hydra had seen them wearing anything else, was during the Christmas holidays when the two always sported matching holiday sweaters. "Do come in," Stormy said politely. As he spoke, the elf stepped to the side to allow the two wizards to enter.

"Thank you for coming," Hydra said.

"Of course." Gellert gave her a quick smile that she somehow found reassuring. Gellert was skilled and more than competent in the ways of war. Having him leading their defense made her feel far safer than if he weren't.

"Breakfast shall be served in under five minutes, if everyone would wait in the dining room," Stormy said. Hydra nodded and led the way, Blaise and Gellert following. Kereston was already seated at the table, hunched tiredly over a cup of coffee. At sight of Gellert, she sprang to her feet, a look of alarm on her face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Hydra assured quickly, flashing Kereston an apologetic look. "I just wanted to share a thought about Delphini, or rather Voldemort, with Gellert because I felt someone should know and I didn't want to bother the Lestranges after all they've gone through lately."

"That's sweet," Kereston said, resuming her seat with a sigh of relief. "These days there is always something dreadful happening, so I am literally overjoyed that nothing has happened yet today!"

"Nothing that we are aware of," Gellert corrected, flashing her a playful grin as he took a seat at the table to Kereston's right. Stormy was serving everyone full plates of bacon, eggs, potatoes and beans when Loughness came in.

"I was thinking about Delphini and what I know of Voldemort last night," Hydra said, getting directly to the reason she'd invited Gellert to breakfast. He was a busy man, after all, so he wouldn't have time for niceties with everything going on. As she spoke, he paused in the act of lifting a forkful of eggs to his mouth to give her an inquiring look, indicating that she had his full attention. "The fact that she believed Bellatrix to be her Mum got me to thinking... You know, because everyone says he wouldn't want to shag or have any sort of relationship. I'm thinking that probably even goes for his snake."

"Probably," Kereston murmured with a shudder. "One can hope. The idea of snake shagging is disgusting."

Loughness snickered and Hydra gave a strained smile, pushing food around her plate with her fork. She wasn't hungry, but knew she should probably put at least a little something on her stomach. Stress starving was no better than stress eating, after all.

"If he killed his own family, wizard and Muggle sides alike, he's clearly not interested in blood bonds or being loved," she continued. "He would not want a child for that or to share his power, for he does not strike me as the sort to want to share from what everyone has said."

Gellert nodded. "From all I've seen of Severus and your fathers memories of him, that sounds about right."

"So why did he want Delphini if indeed she is his? And if she wasn't created by shagging, she was created with magic somehow. But why?"

"The million Galleon question," Loughness quipped.

"While we can't know his plans, we can guess that if her powers are so difficult to fathom, she was intended for something big. He knew how long it would take her to be old enough to use these powers. I mean she didn't grow up over night, so he likely feared some sort of rebellion against him right about now if he won. He planned to win, so we should be thinking like him if he won," Hydra said.

"I'd rather never ever think like him at all for fear of wanting to crawl out of my own brain, but I get the point," Kereston said dryly.

"Agreed," Hydra said, giving her a quick smile before returning her attention to Gellert. "I believe she is a weapon rather than a daughter."

Gellert nodded. "Indeed. A weapon of mass destruction if she has her way. We have no idea what he believed he may be up against, but she definitely has her own plans."

Hydra nodded, a bit crest fallen that Gellert had already reached at least part of her conclusion. "I was just thinking that if we think of her as a weapon and then try to find out what she was made for, we can perhaps sort out more of the abilities she has."

Gellert frowned. "How are we supposed to figure out what Voldemort's insane mind intended her for? He trusted no one, and shared his secrets with no one. There were at least a few in my highest ranking circle whom I brought in on my decisions and concerns, but he...

"He was made of different stuff," Kereston inserted and Gellert nodded.

"Well I was hoping that if I brought the concept to your attention, it would give you some sort of... I don't know inspiration? Or perhaps you'll have a vision about her and if you are thinking of his plans, perhaps your seer ability will tell you something."

Gellert shrugged, then shook his head. "That is doubtful. It does not work in that way for me. I get what comes to me, and not what I specifically want or ask for, I am afraid.""

"Perhaps you could ask Mag to read her runes about it," Hydra said. "She's very skilled at divining with them as you surely know."

Gellert nodded. "Yes. That is a thought. It's a vague concept at this point, but she can at least try. It can't hurt."

Hydra's initial feeling of dejection deepened. She'd been so excited about her revelation last night, but it didn't seem to be of much practical use. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time," she told him apologetically. "Especially at a time like this."

Gellert smiled. "It's alright. I needed to eat breakfast. Home or here, it's all the same." He flashed a grin at Kereston. "And we know our Minister misses me if she doesn't see me every hour on the hour. Hydra was oddly soothed to see that Gellert and Kereston's easy banter wasn't dampened by Delphini. The two had quickly become good friends as soon as Wolfgang and co had freed Gellert from Nurmengard and he'd moved in with Blaise. Though Kereston had grown up with Blaise, she and Gellert had more common ground when it came to career and political interests. Rather than replying with her usual style of friendly jab, Kereston only gave Gellert a strained smile.

"I am very grateful to you and Blaise for being here. I know you never wanted to be a part of the Ministry, Blaise," she said, turning to give him the same strained smile. "I appreciate you stepping up to do your part right now."

Blaise shrugged. "Don't mention it. Of course when this little bitch is dead, we're so gone," he drawled.

Kereston chuckled. "Yes, I could never ask you to help out in any way at the Ministry if we weren't in the literal midst of a natural disaster."